Highlight Reel
by diva.gonzo
Summary: One-shot. Complete. The Holyhead Harpies are playing the Caerphilly Caterpillars and the English National team scouts are present at the match, watching Ginny Weasley specifically. She's been without her husband's pleasant company for a fortnight and her skills show it. Cover art by the lovely and talented tlpursuit / aka catching-smoke.


**A/N1:** This is a subsequent chapter to Athirst, by gryffindormischef, posted here. It's not necessary for understanding but will help with the story.

 **A/N2:** This one is **Rated T+/PG-13/15** for crass language and innuendo. Part III will be the one much awaited **M/E+/NC-21** fic- but for some reason, I felt the need to write the Quidditch match in particular. It will be posted separately so this can be appreciated by all audiences.

I hope you enjoy it! _\- DG_

* * *

"And now starting for the Holyhead Harpies, I give you Villalobos, Jones, Driscoll, Edwards, Fitzpatrick, Weasley, and Moss!"

Ginny took off at full speed on her Firebolt 02 and raced for the Caterpillar's' rings on the other end of the stadium, flying the tightest swings through the rings before racing for the other end and doing the same for the Harpies' rings.

The crowd cheer went louder than she thought possible. It was bloody fucking magical.

"God, I love this," she thought to herself: 75000 fans standing in the stadium all on their feet, all screaming bloody murder, cheering for her or the team or either team in general. Celebrating a win with her husband, shagging her within an inch of her life and pulling her hair would be the only thing better than flying above this pitch. She felt a stirring inside of her and mentally berated herself for it.

 _Focus, you idiot. The match is about to start. Stay on target. Fly on mission. No distractions. No fear._

"Captains, to me," the referee bellowed with magically enhanced lungs. Gwenog flew down along with the Caterpillar's captain Ewan McKenzie. Both gave dirty looks at one another while giving the referee partial attention.

"I'm looking for a clean match, captains. No intentional targeting of anyone," the referee looked at McKenzie for a lingering moment, "and no bludgeoning Chasers trying to score goals," the referee gave Gwenog a long look. "Any fouls will be called and any egregious fouls will result in yellow cards and penalty shots. I have zero issue with red carding anyone for intentionally hurting another player. Sorted?"

The Caterpillar's captain snorted and muttered something under his breath.

"Captains Up!" The referee yelled again and Ginny descended to ten feet above the referee's head. The other Chaser for Caerphilly, Aiden Morris, did the same, leaning low on his broom with his left arm hanging. Ginny took the extra second to affix her flying goggles on her face, letting it push her ginger locks up above her head in a fair imitation of Harry when he first wakes in the morning.

A canon blew and the Quaffle went up in the air. Ginny made a break for it and took off. She took first Chaser spot for the moment, flying in a dodecahedron pattern through the middle of the pitch. She dropped the Quaffle and knew First Chaser Edwards would be there to catch it and she'd fall back into her traditional third Chaser position. The team picked Edwards up from the Italian league at the end of last season and Melody Edwards was nothing short of spectacular.

The noise from the stadium drifted away as she flew by instinct. Years of intense practice and training incessantly paid off while avoiding every single Bludger batted her way. Heartbeats ticked by the numbers of rows she passed in the stadium at blinding speed. Her only focus was on the flyer in front of her.

The Quaffle dropped for half a heartbeat before she caught it square in the chest and shifted it to her right elbow, tucking it tight while she spun upside down to avoid another Bludger hit her way. Sodding bastards! That was the third one since the whistle blew. She knew the other team would intentionally target her. But she had no time to complain, not with the rings twenty meters in front of her and McKenzie, their Keeper guarding them. He was second in the league, only behind Wood flying for Puddlemere United.

Another heartbeat and she pulled a tight three sixty, earning a roar from the crowd while losing the Beaters aiming for her head. She figure-eight through the Caterpillars defense before flying left towards the smaller lower ring, but shifted on her broom and opened her shoulder to throw it through the right ring – the one the Caerphilly Keeper wasn't tending.

"And the Harpies are on the board, 10 to zero," the stadium announcer exclaimed. But by the time his last word drifted away into the skies, the teams were back flying breakneck speeds against one another, either trying to keep the Quaffle to score or stealing it back to attempt a try on the rings on the other end.

Ginny raced for the first Chaser. She saw Gwenog hold up her fist for two seconds. The Beaters were to aim the Bludgers at the second Chaser, making the two following break off their pattern. The Harpies would swarm the first Chaser, bumping him on both sides, called a Squeeze, and hope he'd drop the Quaffle. Ginny would catch it right back and under him and take off, only handing it to Edwards and flying back in formation.

 _Bugger, he's off!_ Ginny leaned low and flew as fast as she could, which nearly knocked Fitzpatrick off her broom. A shot on goal, at Javiera Villalobos, the Chilean Keeper for the Harpies, sailed high above the tallest ring, tipped out of the way by the Keeper's outstretched hand.

' _Hope Neville has his way with her tonight,'_ Ginny thought to herself as she watched Javiera blow a kiss towards the Caterpillar bench, her trademark whenever she'd stop a shot on goal. _' 'cause she'll be a fiend if she doesn't get shagged rotten for performing well today.'_

Ginny shook her head, muttering about focusing, and sped towards the ground of the stadium to receive the Quaffle back. Fitzpatrick caught it after the ref tossed it and she trailed behind the other two Chasers. She saw an open hand on the second Chaser, followed by a finger pointed down and swirling. ' _Lovely,'_ she thought before falling in behind them, doing an intricate three dimensional pattern to throw off the Beaters. Ginny flew a corkscrew around the first one with the other Chaser flying in time opposite her, keeping the turns so tight that they could reach out and touch Fitzpatrick if they wanted. But if they did, they'd knock her off her broom.

Ginny dodged two bludgers hit at her, growing into the wind when being thrown off the play and course. Fitzpatrick made the throw and McKenzie caught it at his fingertips on the top ring. He blew a kiss to her and she turned her broom back towards the middle, awaiting him to send it back into play.

' _Bugger that',_ she said and raced to intercept his soft throw, one he wasn't expecting Ginny to race in and stuff the Quaffle back through the top ring before McKenzie could even flinch.

"Amazing!" the announcer yelled into the microphone. "Weasley is on fire! She stole that Quaffle for another score. Harpies 20 to nothing. Can anyone stop that Pint sized pixie?"

Ginny snarled. She'd warned the announcer to not call her pint sized or a pixie. She couldn't help it that she'd stopped growing at all of 1.6m and had Harry towering over her in his bare feet.

" _Harpies 20 to zero and the Caerphilly coach is calling a time-out. It seems that two of their Chasers are down and need their back-up brooms."_

Ginny flew down to the ground, stopping above the bench. Five other players were with her, with Javiera refusing to leave her rings until the Snitch was caught. Bloody superstitious keepers, all of them. One of the assistant trainers flew up on their Comet 290 up to her with a water bottle.

"Weasley, that throw will make the highlight reels this evening."

"Thanks," She took three slaps on her arse and one punch in the left arm, courtesy of Gwenog. "Don't do it again. It left our entire left side wide open."

"Yes, sir."

"Game plan Mouse, Trinity, and Nero. Now we'll try it three more times but with Weasley keeping the Quaffle as the center. Gwenog, those Chasers are treating you like a sloth. Get up there and change some trajectories."

Ginny tossed down the drink bottle and the remnants splashed all over the coach. "That was intentional!" the Coach yelled.

"Of course it was," she yelled back before he could do anything else. "I'm a professional," she thought as she took her position next to the other Chasers and two Beaters.

The whistle blew and the teams were off again.

Two Chasers zipped past her and she sped off to give chase. She raced by Gwenog who was trying to get one of the bludgers to cooperate. She swung and batted it towards the lead Chaser, knowing that the real target was the second one.

Sure enough, the transfer from the first Chaser to the second was bungled and Melody Edwards caught it a meter off the ground. She tossed it behind to Mary Fitzpatrick and the three Chasers took off towards the other end of the pitch. One lone Caerphilly Chaser gave chase. He flew up beside Fitzpatrick and bumped her hard. The ball squirted out and Ginny caught it before shifting it to her other elbow. She firmed up her right side in anticipation of him trying to bump it loose from her. "Give it up, Weasley!"

Ginny inverted herself, barrel rolling over her opponent and shifted the Quaffle to the outside. "Sod off Mallory!" She roared before yanking her broom up to a hard stop. He turned and flew right over the Keeper, distracting him where she could score another goal.

"Is there anything Weasley can't do?" The announcer yelled again to the din of the roar of the crowd. Ginny flew to the center line again, trying to ignore the chanting coming from one particular corner of the stadium.

"Stay in the moment, kid." Gwenog rumbled over with her ebony bat in her hand. "You get cocky and I'll shove this bat where only Potter dares tread."

"You wish," Ginny yelled and the Quaffle went up again and the teams were off. One of the Caterpillar Chasers, Denley if she remembered correctly, took off up the pitch and was within fingertips of the ground and racing along the edge of the stadium. Driscoll went after him while Ginny raced forward, trying to anticipate where he'd be. She yanked her broom down, imitating a Wronski feint ten meters above the Chaser's head. She skimmed over the top of his head when a bludger blocked his path next to the wall. When he budged up, she sloth rolled her broom upside down and stole it from his hand, flying upside down and backwards before righting herself. She knew she had about four seconds before she had 2 very angry Caterpillars aiming for her head.

She made a turn for the rings then took her broom and, with skills honed with years of practice on this world class broom, flew her up at a 70 degree angle. She took a deep breath and pressed the soles of her boots into the stirrups and held on for dear life, narrowly avoiding both Seekers flying high above the skies hunting the Snitch. Gravity strained her grip and she felt her fingers losing strength. Two seconds above the Seekers and probably fifty meters higher than the Seekers, she turned and dove back towards the other rings, gripping the broom handle hard as she flew for the other end of the pitch. Ginny flew as fast as she dared. If she mistimed her plan, she'd run into the Keeper and probably injure both of them out of their career. The human body wasn't designed to withstand the impact forces on a Firebolt 02 going 100 miles an hour.

Sod being safe.

She pushed her broom hard and hoped that a bludger wasn't coming at her from her blind spot. Or both of the bludgers to knock her completely off her broom. She shifted the Quaffle from her left elbow to her right to pull off the next stunt.

Three.

Two.

One.

Now.

Ginny yanked up hard on the broom handle. It stopped even with her momentum and nearly threw her from the broom. With a toss going against her momentum and acceleration, she flung it backwards, nearly dislocating her shoulder towards the top ring.

Another roar from the crowd told her it worked.

"We've never seen this kind of performance from a Chaser in decades. We are – The Seekers are racing for the rings. They might have sighted the Snitch."

Ginny turned and saw two blurs of green diving like she did seconds ago. She turned to fly and two bludgers buzzed her head. She looked to her left and saw both Caerphilly Beaters giving her a dirty look before flying back towards the other end of the pitch.

"Bastards," she muttered to herself before going back to the middle of the pitch.

While the two Seekers were racing around the pitch, she moved to the middle and hovered, waiting patiently for the Quaffle to go up. Gwenog ran into her, bumping her out of reverie.

"Get your head in the game, Weasley. It's not over yet."

Ginny nodded and saw Gwenog make a few hand signals to dictate the next play.

"Awwww, it appears the Seekers lost the Snitch. Let the match continue!"

"And the score now is Caerphilly 240, Holyhead 250. How long can this match continue?"

Ginny tossed down the squeeze bottle to the trainer during the 90 second time-out. "Gwenog, my ass is so sore."

The captain of the team grunted. "My arm is about to fall off."

"Typical women, always bitching about something," a snide comment came from down below. Gwenog threw her bottle at the new trainer, hitting him in the ear. "That'll teach you to cheek professional Quidditch players, ya gob. Toddle the fuck off!"

He made a dirty face before picking up the remaining plastic bottles and hustled off the pitch.

"Wanker," Gwenog muttered under her breath.

Mary Fitzpatrick groaned. "You know the sooner you catch the Snitch, the happier I'll be."

"I'm trying, honest." The Harpies Seeker, Abigail Moss, was even smaller than Ginny was, at 1.5m and maybe 40kg. "Damn thing must be hiding up the ref's fanny for all I've seen of it today. I took off the first time trying to fake the other Seeker. I think I might have seen it once, maybe, but I can't be sure."

"So I'll hit a bludger at her and see if we can dislodge it." Kerry Driscoll shrugged her shoulders. "Too bad I can't run into the ref to dislodge it hiding up his arse."

"Chasers take your mark!" The ref bellowed.

Ginny flew to her place and saw Edwards give the set of hand signals. Each of the Chasers affirmed they saw the instructions, along with the two Beaters. The Seeker, Moss, was already in the skies hunting the Snitch, and the keeper, Javiera Villalobos was circling the rings.

The ref threw the Quaffle up in the air and a Caterpillar Chaser, Aiden Morris, took off with it, dodging bludgers, referees, Beaters, and a few Chasers, streaking towards the opposing end rings. Ginny gave chase, along with Edwards and Fitzgerald, trying to dislodge the Quaffle or keep the Chaser off the mark.

All three missed and he threw it, whizzing just past the Harpies' keeper.

"The Caterpillars have tied the match. I repeat, the Caterpillars have tied the match. Oh my poor heart."

Ginny and her two teammates gave each other knowing looks.

"Chasers take your mark!" The ref yelled again, magically amplifying their voice.

"And it's off! Caterpillars with the Quaffle and they are racing for the rings."

Ginny kept low over the broom handle, dodging everyone and everything flying through the air. Up and down, even upside down, and hairpin turns to catch the sod with the Quaffle. But he was too fast, too nimble, this substitution. Sod was like Harry, damn it.

They tossed the Quaffle at the right ring and Villalobos blocked it. Ginny swooped down before it hit the pitch and threw it to Edwards. They looked at one another, before the first two took off. She fell in behind them, a little below and to the left.

"The Seekers have spotted the Snitch. It's a race, moments now, probably," the announcer said breathlessly.

They had to hurry. They had about seven seconds before Moss caught the Snitch. Ginny pushed her broom to the absolute limit, corkscrewing around Edwards.

 _Four._ Ginny took a deep breath and kept flying like a corkscrew around Edwards. She gripped the broom handle hard with her right, flexing her left hand under her calfskin gloves. She was to receive the Quaffle one second before crashing into the other keeper if she fucked up the play and two seconds before the Snitch was caught.

She couldn't let the team down, even if she'd cocked it up every time in practice the last week. She would do it flawlessly today. Her potential spot on the National team was at stake.

 _Three._ She wiggled her arse down onto the broom and set her size five boots in the stirrups. She'd have to stand up in the stirrups and keep her balance without holding onto the broom until the absolute last second. She let go of her right hand, flexed it once, and changed her grip to a rolling sloth grip. She'd only get one shot and she'd have to make it count.

 _Two._ She dipped the broom down slightly, so her corkscrewing around the first Chaser would give her a touch more room. She'd need it for the maneuver. Ginny took a deep breath.

 _One._ **Now.**

Ginny opened her left arm up and felt the Quaffle drop into her elbow. She trusted the first Chaser would hard stop behind her and the other one fly a dropping 360 loop and curl in behind her.

On the barrel roll up she yanked hard on the stick of her broom, three meters in front of the keeper who was anticipating her throwing through the left ring and slung the Quaffle through the right one, passing easily through the outstretched fingers of McKenzie.

The stadium erupted. "Is there anything Weasley can't do?" The roar grew louder. "Harpies win! Harpies Win. Moss caught the Snitch! What a bloody photo finish, ladies and gentlemen. I've not watched a match like this since the 1994 World Cup when Krum caught the Snitch. I hope someone recorded it on film because the entire match was an hour long highlight reel."

Ginny turned her broom to return to the pitch, having overshot the end of the stadium by a hundred meters, at least. She saw McKenzie frowning.

"Cheer up, Ewan. You'll make the highlight reel for tomorrow."

"Go fuck yourself, Weasley."

"Sorry but I leave that to the Man who lived." Ginny flew away slowly, giving the opposing Keeper a rude gesture behind her back. _'And I plan on that for the rest of the day and night.'_


End file.
